Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 8/18/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 8/18/26

Your Weekend Plan: What the Funk?! BIPOC Burlesque at Triple Door

Puckduction, in association with The Stay Up Late Show and powered by Shunpike, proudly announces the return of What the Funk?! An All BIPOC Burlesque Festival. Celebrating its milestone 7th anniversary, the three-night spectacular will take over the historic mainstage of The Triple Door from August 20 to August 22, 2026.

Nina Alworth 8/17/26 Nina Alworth 8/17/26

Queers Sport Community at Pitch the Baby

Now is a moment like none other as women's sports are reaching uncharted levels of popularity in and beyond our fair city. So where does one go to find fellow fans here in Seattle? Allow me to introduce…Pitch The Baby.

JeLisa Marshall 8/14/26 JeLisa Marshall 8/14/26

Runway to Runway: Flight Attendant Fashions Expose Civil Rights Flashpoints

Walking into the Museum of Flight to view Runway to Runway, I never expected to leave with such a profound sense of connection to the history of civil rights in the United States. Having studied and worked in fashion for many years, I was familiar with some of the design collaborations behind the uniforms—like Braniff Airways and Emilio Pucci—but less familiar with the stories that give them layered meaning. What I discovered was how the flight attendants and their uniforms are intricately woven into the fight for gender, labor, and racial equality.

Lynette Evans 7/30/26 Lynette Evans 7/30/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: Apps, Groveling Exes, and The Hug Barometer

If you had told me at the beginning of this year that I’d be simultaneously navigating 10 Jerry Springer Show seasons worth of dating apps, receiving apology tours from exes a decade late, and coaching my own dear mother through her dating life, I’d be your indentured servant for a month! But here we are, and the streets are making my edges thin.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 7/28/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 7/28/26

Kitsap Pride Basks in Gloriously Colorful Community

The first pride was a riot, really more of a rebellion. So you can imagine my internal preparation as I braced for another corporatized Pride to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily I had nothing to fear at the Kitsap Pride Festival.

Calista Robbins 7/21/26 Calista Robbins 7/21/26

Seattle Vice Revives Burlesque Series of Tenderloin Histories at Triple Door

“We liked exploring the ‘70s in particular,” said Mark Siano when interviewed, “because this is where the clubs started to spiral out of Frank’s control and started to take on a life of their own. We saw the emergence of Burlesque, Cabaret, Follies, and more Queer-oriented entertainment like what was happening at The New Paris Theatre in Pioneer Square (Seattle’s original gay neighborhood.)”

JeLisa Marshall 7/6/26 JeLisa Marshall 7/6/26

Evergreen Style: Rossario George at Queer NW’s PRIMAVERA

Before the show, I sat down with one of the featured designers, Tony Vicente, to hear his perspective. Eight years after founding the award-winning luxury label Rossario George, Tony was preparing to debut a new haute couture collection, La Maison de Rossario George. His work has earned recognition for designs that blend timeless elegance with bold storytelling while celebrating individuality through artistry. Our conversation explored the role fashion plays in fostering self-expression, visibility, and community during Pride Month, and why those values hold true long after June.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 7/4/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 7/4/26

Mike Barnet of Brmrtn Blk Mkt Creates Hub of Black Community

I had the pleasure of attending an event called Brmrtn Blk Mkt (Bremerton Black Market). It took place in Downtown Bremerton’s Quincy Square and per the website was “an open-air market celebration in Quincy Square of Black-led businesses, food vendors, doubledutch performances and live entertainment!” This free market allowed me to engage with and support my cultural community and I left, purchase-laden, feeling invigorated and refilled.

Maxwell Meier 6/30/26 Maxwell Meier 6/30/26

A Queer Reflection on PNW Wedding Planning

Wedding planning during Pride month brings forth newfound realizations, opportunities for self-reflection, and chances to make amends with past traumas, which makes June all the more special.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 6/27/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 6/27/26

Perennial Conventions: The AI Grift

As the next generation exits schooling and begins their foray into the career space, the moment of their celebrated end to matriculation is being overshadowed by speakers shoehorning AI inevitability into their faces. The boos, turned backs, and walkouts have made it clear that a solid portion of the debuting generation are already fed up.

Gray Harrison 6/26/26 Gray Harrison 6/26/26

Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate Weaves Musical Stories at Seattle Symphony

On June 12, Octave 9 hosted an evening of music at Benaroya Hall from Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The chamber pieces were performed by a string quartet composed of Emerson Millar and Jacqueline Audas on violin, Ursula Steele on viola, and Katherine Audas on cello. One of the pieces, entitled “MoonStrike,” also featured live narration from Washington local musician, actor, and storytelling legend Swil Kanim.

Lynette Evans 6/25/26 Lynette Evans 6/25/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: Collard Green Kisses and Rom-Com Reality

The magic started on a Friday in Atlanta. My sleep is always a little unpredictable when I’m traveling, and I didn’t roll out of bed until 12:30 p.m. I headed to my favorite local buffet specifically to hit the salad bar. While I was waiting in line, two friends approached me. One of them looked at me, completely unprompted, and said I was beautiful and that I had pretty toes. Look at God!

Parker Dean 6/20/26 Parker Dean 6/20/26

Trans* Talk: Trans* Pride

This year, Pride feels bigger and more important than any other. Like in years past, it feels as though the need for Pride has grown, to remind all of us in the community that we are here, we are alive, we are beautiful. It also feels like an important way to remind our allies to stand with us, and to tell our opposition that we have been here forever and we aren’t backing down anytime soon.

Lynette Evans 6/19/26 Lynette Evans 6/19/26

Juneteenth: The Theft of Rest and the Radical Pursuit of Reclamation

Beyond the physical labor, those two stolen years completely robbed Black people of the vital life milestones that defined actual freedom. They were kept from the immediate, desperate search to find long-lost loved ones who had been sold down river. They were blocked from legally binding their marriages and solidifying the family units that slavery had spent centuries trying to rip apart. They were denied the right to pool resources, buy land, build equity, and found the independent schools that would educate the next generation. Every single day of delayed emancipation was a day stolen from laying the foundations of generational wealth, security, and community building.

Calista Robbins 6/2/26 Calista Robbins 6/2/26

We Are Zoorkhaneh Bridges Generations + Cultural Understanding

“What we are building is not simply an athletic program but an act of cultural continuity. Zoorkhaneh has endured centuries of political upheaval, war, migration, and diaspora. To teach it today outside of Iran and across cultures and spaces where women have historically been denied access to it feels, in many ways, like a quiet form of resistance. Each session becomes an affirmation that this tradition belongs to all those willing to carry it forward, regardless of nationality, gender, or background.”

JeLisa Marshall 5/27/26 JeLisa Marshall 5/27/26

Evergreen Style: Barakah Beauty Collective

After being unable to find clothes that reflected both her identities and beliefs, Michaela started a fashion label with her namesake, Michaela Corning LLC, in 2021 and has been on a mission to make modest fashion more accessible ever since. One year later, she launched the Barakah Beauty Collective to cultivate a space where fashion, faith, and fellowship could coexist.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 5/25/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 5/25/26

Perennial Conventions: My Year Without a Smartphone

I had dispersed the grip my phone had on my reality and rendered it less powerful. But it wasn’t all birdsong and silence. Outside of getting lost frequently, and the amount of time it took to send a text—which was both a skill and will issue—there were other cons. Without social media or a smartphone, the lack of ease in communication left me out of the loop. That was my goal, of course, but feelings in reality are often different from expectations.

Lynette Evans 5/22/26 Lynette Evans 5/22/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: The Power of ‘No’

There is a specific kind of intoxication that comes when you re-enter the dating world with a healed heart. You’re feeling good, your body looking like tea, and your capacity for joy is wide open. But I had to learn a hard lesson recently: Just because a man has the charm to grab your attention doesn’t mean he has the integrity to hold your space.

Parker Dean 5/21/26 Parker Dean 5/21/26

Trans* Talk: Grief

According to Remembering Our Dead, a website linked to Trans Day of Remembrance which houses the names of Trans individuals who have lost their lives due to violence or suicide, we have lost 11 siblings in the US since the start of 2026 (as of May 7, when the site was last updated, making Juniper Blessing the twelfth).

Mary Adner 5/14/26 Mary Adner 5/14/26

Beyond Protests, Humanize MENA Lives with Intentional Arts + Culture

Across the street from the (in)famous Rickshaw Lounge lies the unassuming 1 Million Cafe. I’ve lived in the area for over a decade and never knew it was Yemeni and that their chai is homebrewed with love; my iced version with oat milk presented a homey, unadulterated flavor unlike any chai I’ve had in Seattle.

How many of us walk by establishments owned by Middle Eastern people and never try them? Is it fear? Racism? Flavors unknown?

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